(Mis)understanding

If it wasn't a dead body, it was paperwork, and Arthur would take a corpse over deskwork any day. He wasn't above passing it over to someone else. Too bad Merlin was out. He dropped another form into the done pile and pulled out his phone. He opened his saved messages and put the phone to his ear.

"My name is Guinevere Leodegrance, formerly Maynard, and I killed my husband…"

He lost track of how many times he listened to the message. When he left Gwen last night, he played it over and over, feeling like he was discovering something new about her each time. The first time all he heard was a cold, clear confession. Now after seeing her in a state of vulnerability, he was reading between the lines, or in this case, listening.

"I always thought about killing him…"

It was more than a crime of passion, it was premeditated. Calculated. Gwen was a woman who had her reasons.

When she shot the prostitute killer, she deposited three bullets up the spinal cord. The third was through the neck. It wasn't luck, it was skill. The first shot alone guaranteed death. The rest was for show.

She chuckled at her own comment about the botanical garden's lack of security.

She threatened to kill him when he dragged her to bed. It was a drunken, empty threat that he dismissed. But the more he thought about what she was capable of, a bit of fear crept into him.

Arthur's office door opened to reveal a panicked Mithian rambling about being threatened. He quickly ended the message. "Close the door behind you, take a seat, and repeat that more clearly," he said to her in a calm tone.

Mithian took a deep breath and composed herself before doing what he said. She smoothed down her skirt and sat with perfect posture. "Guinevere Leodegrance killed her husband, and now she's going to kill me."

Yeah, that's what Arthur thought he heard. "What makes you think this?"

"She practically told me!" Mithian was quickly losing it. "She waltzed into the gallery with her beast of a dog and threatened me! She said she threw Helios' ashes in the trash. Then she said if I hurt you I'll be sorry. Shouldn't you be writing this down?"

"Right," Arthur said slowly, grabbing his notepad and pen. "And I play into this because…?"

That's when Mithian looked guilty. "I, um, had a thing with Helios, and now she's punishing me."

Arthur paused his note-taking "A thing?"

Mithian's lips thinned, wanting to remain tight-lipped, but honesty prevailed. "We had a relationship."

"A sexual relationship," Arthur said, resuming his notes. It wasn't a question, and it was confirmed when Mithian nodded.

"She knew. I'm sure of it. That's why she killed him, and now she's coming after me!"

As Arthur transcribed Mithian's statement, he couldn't help but debunk everything she said. Gwen didn't fit the jealous wife profile. "You think she's trying to teach you a lesson?"

"Yes!"

Arthur tapped his pen on the pad for a moment. "Seeing how I have personal connections to this, I can't investigate, so I'll pass it on to Gaius." he said. "But listen, Helios was involved in dangerous business, and he had a lot of enemies." Like his wife, Arthur left unsaid.

"Dangerous business—oh, God. Like drugs?" Mithian really didn't know. She was just another woman Helios fooled.

"Among other things."

Mithian began to hyperventilate. Arthur ran out to the water cooler and brought her back a cup of water. She drank it down and took a deep breath. "That's it? I just wait while the wife of a kingpin is watching my every move."

Arthur put a hand on her shoulder. "Gaius will look into it right away, I promise. But you have nothing to worry about." Mithian stood and they shared a hug. "I'll drop by later."

When Mithian left, Arthur pulled out his phone and played the message again. Gwen killed the Helios to save herself and at least hinder his operations. And she killed in order to save him.

She threatened Mithian to protect him?

"My name is Guinevere Leodegrance, formerly Maynard, and I kil—" Beeep.

"Message deleted," the automated voice informed.

Gwen was comparing the prices of hardwood flooring when she heard the muffled ringing of her cell phone. She lifted up the cushions and looked under the couch but couldn't find it. With her ear closer to the ground, the ringing sounded louder. She scanned the floor and saw the device peeking out from under Tiny's dog bed. She side-eyed her dog on the couch. Tiny made a low whine and covered his face with his paw. He was caught.

She crawled quickly to the phone, grabbed it, and answered before the ringing stopped. "Hello?" If she had checked the caller ID, she would've seen that it was Arthur.

"Did you threaten Mithian?" he asked.

"We're going to have to work on your phone etiquette, detective. And no, not quite?" She scratched the back of her head. "Did she already come to you? I just saw her like an hour ago."

"You're going to get a call from Gaius asking you to come down to the station for your own statement," he said.

"Thanks for the warning?" Gwen wanted to laugh. Surely it wasn't proper procedure to give suspects of any kind a warning in advance. "Did she say anything else that you want to talk about?"

"Not now." Arthur grumbled a goodbye and hung up. At least he said goodbye. It was a start.

Shortly after, Gaius called to inform her of what she already knew and asked when she could come down to the station. She thought it was necessary to get it over with, and Gaius said he could fit her in this evening.

Gwen felt more comfortable in the interrogation room the second time around. She smiled at Gaius across from her as he passed her a Styrofoam cup of tea. "Thank you."

"Sorry it's so late; it's a very busy week." Gaius explained.

"It's alright." Gwen smirked behind her cup. "I'm sure Mithian is going mad with paranoia."

"Miss Nemeth has made a very serious accusation."

Gwen leaned back comfortably in her chair, crossing her legs and folding her hands on her knee. "I can explain that. Last night I was pretty hammered, made a few drunk dials… You know how it's so easy to do nowadays."

"It was quite hard in my day," Gaius reminisced, taking a moment. "Carrier pigeons."

Gwen laughed so hard there were tears in her eyes. She hoped this was some sort of record and that they would put up a plaque and name the interrogation room in her honor. "That's a good one." She wiped her eyes and smiled. The superintendent made her very comfortable. "This morning I was bit hungover, and I probably came off a little strong. It's just that Detective Pendragon and the force have been very helpful." Gwen sighed. "I shouldn't even say what I've thought about her."

"If it will help me understand the situation, feel free to continue," Gaius urged.

"Seeing Mithian again reminded me of Helios' affair with her. It was embarrassing, but at the same time I would wish that she was in my place, that he would leave me for her and I would be free. Is that a horrible thought?"

Gaius gave her a kind, grandfatherly smile. "It's a fair thought."

Gwen got a second wind. "Knowing the type of person Mithian is, I don't want Detective Pendragon to be a victim of her…extracurricular activities. It doesn't mean I'm going to kill her, or that I killed Helios because of their affair. That's ridiculous. I did—"

Gaius made a throat clearing noise. Gwen got the hint. "That's all I have to say, Superintendent. It was just a misunderstanding."

Arthur stayed an extra hour to watch the interrogation via the livefeed. When they were done, he left immediately to avoid Gwen. In the parking lot, he found her sitting on the hood of his car. He paused at the site of her, sighed, and then continued his trudge to his car. He sat next to her. "So, you're trying to look out for me, huh?"

"Well, I don't want any future heartbreak to cloud your judgment in investigations," Gwen said casually.

Arthur observed her. "I'm sure that's why."

"So how does it feel to be doing the woman that did Helios?" Gwen saw Arthur fight back his reaction, so she made the OK sign with her left hand and repeatedly poked her right index finger through the hole. Arthur blanketed her hands with one of his, pinning them to the car between them. She grinned. "You didn't give Gaius my confession. And I was about to give myself away during the interrogation but he stopped me. This is one of those forces where some things are just swept under the rug." She leaned in and whispered, "Out of sight, out of mind."

With her close proximity and the emptiness of the garage, her delicate whisper danced around him. Arthur fought back a shiver. "Sometimes Gaius can go either way. If you had consciously surrendered, he would put you away. He stopped you from incriminating yourself because he thinks you're better off free," he explained.

It was Gwen's turn to do the observing. Arthur was very much by the book. Despite their odd little friendship, if she dare call it that, she knew that her getting away with murder must have driven him crazy. "But you're not like that. You kept my message."

He gave her a look of feigned confusion. "What message?"

Gwen leaned her forehead on Arthur's shoulder, hiding her smile. His hand was still covering hers. She slipped one out and covered his, sandwiching his hands. "And I thought I was the sneaky one."

The sound of footsteps echoing across the garage pulled them apart. Gwen slipped off the hood and Arthur fiddled with his car keys. "Do you need a ride?"

Gwen told him no. "It's just a quick ride on the tube."

"Good," Arthur said with a friendly grin. "Because you're out of my way."

She shook her head as she walked away. "You're such a gentleman," she said over her shoulder.

On his way home Arthur stopped at Mithian's. She opened the door and smiled. "Well, I must say that this is the sexiest security detail I've ever seen." She smoothed out his jacket lapel and leaned into him.

"Sexy, yes. Security detail, no."

Mithian dropped her hands and frowned. "What?"

"You're not in danger. It was all a misunderstanding." Arthur hoped he phrased it carefully enough. The look of agitation on his girlfriend's face told him he failed.

"A misunderstanding? On my part? She killed her husband!"

"Guinevere did not kill Helios," he lied. "And she's not going to kill you."

Mithian took several heavy breaths. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Arthur said and kissed her cheek. "Stop worrying and get some rest."

Arthur briefly wondered if he was being an inattentive boyfriend for leaving Mithian tonight. She asked him to stay, but it's been a long day and he has an early morning tomorrow. This was the third time they were trying to make their relationship work. But if Arthur was honest with himself, he was tired of trying.

He leaned his head against the door of his flat and lazily unlocked it. That action alone felt like a burden. Inside, he threw the keys on the side table where they slid off and onto the floor. He knew he should pick them up now or he'd forget where they were tomorrow, but he was too tired to follow through. He took off his jacket instead, loosened his tie, and laid back on the couch. It was dead quiet, allowing him to stew in his thoughts.

His thoughts wavered back and forth between Mithian and Gwen. He wondered if she cheated on him in the past. If she did, was it with Helios? It's a small world, he snickered at the thought. Was she cheating on him now? Was Gwen's warning actually for him? He felt his opinion of Mithian changing. Could he still trust her?

Like he trusted Guinevere.

A/N: So I have an ending in mind. And there will be a sequel!

Next chapter – more fun with the knights!

Thanks always for reading and reviewing!